Evil Instinct (1996) Review

“Evil Instinct” Theatrical Poster

Director: Barry Chu
Cast: Carrie Ng Ka-Lai, Diana Pang Dan, Bowie Lam Bo-Yi, Evergreen Mak Cheung-Ching, Stuart Ong, Chung Sau-Han, Le Rong-Rong, Yeung Ging-Shing
Running Time: 96 min.

By Paul Bramhall

In 1996 the golden era of the Category III genre had already past its peak, with the excess of the early 90’s classics like Naked Killer and The Untold Story subsiding to the uncertainty of the HK handover the following year. There was still a small amount of gas left in the Cat III tank, with Sex and Zen 2 providing Shu Qi with her unforgettable screen debut, but more and more titles which once seemed sure to receive the infamous rating, increasingly became tamer and somewhat lifeless affairs. Titles like Hong Kong Showgirls (featuring the triple threat of Veronica Yip, Diana Pang Dan, and Pauline Chan) got away with a Cat IIA, while the Chingmy Yau and Donnie Yen starring Satan Returns received a mild Cat IIB. Thankfully, along with Sex & Zen 2, Evil Instinct also came along to remind audiences that Cat III was still around.

Somewhat humorously, the back of the UK DVD released in 1999, making it almost as much a relic of a bygone era as the movie itself, proudly declares it to be “The most watched hotel pay-per-view film in Asia”. I’m not sure how distributors M.I.A. got access to such seemingly obscure data, but we’ll give them the benefit to the doubt (I’m unable to confirm if the 2020 Hong Kong Blu-ray release reaffirms these claims). The opening credits are juxtaposed with scenes of a model, seemingly posing for a playful outdoor photoshoot with a snake draped around her neck, in a sequence which is notable for having precisely nothing to do with the plot we’re introduced to once the credits wrap.

Instead, we meet a horny cop played by Bowie Lam (Hard Boiled, Bleeding Steel). Lam spends his downtime in a bar which seems to be the go-to spot for picking up one-night stands, and he soon finds himself striking up a conversation with a couple of ladies that work in insurance (more exciting than it sounds, trust me on this one). Played by Carrie Ng (Naked Killer, Taking Manhattan) and Diana Pang Dan (The Imp, Web of Deception), who are equally on the look out for some action, Lam and Ng quickly hit it off and are soon getting down to business in the bars stockroom. Apparently the stockroom seems to be the go-to place for a quickie, despite only being separated from the rest of the bar by a curtain, as it hosts some more frivolous action later in the movie (the credits list Bahama Mama’s Coconut Bar for those interested, although I can’t vouch for if it’s still around).

Unfortunately for both of them Lam is interrupted by a call from his colleague advising of a grisly murder, so their partially clothed grinding has to be put on hold, and Lam takes himself off (I said ‘takes’) to the scene, where a body that was drowned several days ago has been retrieved from a pool. The murder is one in what would seem to be a series, with the common denominator being that the victims are discovered with snake DNA in their bodies, and have purchased insurance from the same company (told you to trust me!). Of course, Lam ends up in the offices of the same insurance company that both Ng and Pang Dan work at, and audiences will correctly guess that one of the femme fatales is behind the killings. What makes things interesting is that Lam develops feeling for Ng (even if said feelings are only to finish off what they started in the stockroom) and tries to protect her, sending events into Basic Instinct territory.

Cue an almost exact replica of the infamous interrogation room scene, which contains more leg crossing than the scene which inspired it, but less gratuitous exposure. The interrogation even starts with Ng breaking the fourth wall, addressing both the cops and the audience by asking “Why is this scene so familiar? Which film did you copy it from?” Evil Instinct was the debut of director Barry Chu, and what tone he’s aiming for is never exactly clear. Are we supposed to laugh at the comment, or does he expect us to be invested in the poker-faced seriousness of the scene? Whatever the case, Evil Instinct succeeds at being a perfect example of the ‘everything and the kitchen sink’ style of HK filmmaking that defined the decade before it, meaning it’s rarely dull.

At this point in her career Carrie Ng was most well known for her role in Naked Killer, and director Chu is clearly looking to capitalise on it, even featuring a nude murder scene in a pool. While Ng flitted in and out of the Cat III world, her career was never defined by her roles in the genre, having been acting since 1982 and featured in the likes of Ringo Lam’s City on Fire and Kirk Wong’s Gunmen. Diana Pang Dan on the other hand feels like she entered the HK film industry a little too late, acting mostly in saucy thrillers having made her debut the year prior in 1995’s Chinese Chocolate, as they increasingly went out of fashion in a post-1997 world. Despite typically racy titles like Rape Trap and Devil Snake Girl, most of Pang Dan’s filmography would test even the most ardent HK cinema fans patience. 

Interestingly, her last film before retiring was 2013’s On the Man Ni Wan Frontier, which she not only starred in but also directed, and has Bruce Le billed as executive producer, made at the same time as he was making his own wartime drama The Eyes of Dawn. Despite Evil Instinct’s classification, ironically neither Ng nor Pang Dan show that much flesh, with their softcore sex scenes translating soft to mean flaccid in terms of the titillation most Cat III titles indulge in. There is nudity for those clocking in for it, however it feels like a fair warning to say that it doesn’t come from the 2 lead actresses.

The Basic Instinct vibe proves to be somewhat of a red herring, as Chu sends the narrative off in various directions that he somehow manages to keep cohesive. Ng receives a sales award in the insurance company, which sets Pang Dan on a path of jealousy that sees her seducing Ng’s clients to take their business, claiming Ng is old and over the hill (in reality the actresses are 11 years apart). In turn, Ng spends her time injecting herself with snake serum, the after-effects of which involve the step-printing technique that Wong Kar Wai is partial to being used awkwardly, and her dreaming of snake stock footage. The plot hinges on the questions of why Ng is injecting herself with something so dangerous, if doing so makes her the killer behind the murders, and if Lam can keep it in his pants long enough to figure everything out.

Thankfully, he does, but not before we have to witness his sex face, which personally I could have done without. A lot of the fun factor in Evil Instinct comes from how seriously it takes itself, despite the ridiculousness of the plot, with one scene even involving Ng and Lam going on a cinema date to watch the 1995 slice of existentialism All Men are Mortal. My favorite part though was when the cops come to take blood samples from everyone in the insurance office, which sees both Ng and Pang Dan refuse, because they’re worried the tests may reveal they have an STD and ruin their reputation. Indeed, in Hong Kong being a murder suspect is better than finding out you have an STD!

It’s ironic that the serious tone is ultimately what helps Evil Instinct entertain, even if its admittedly not supposed to, and sure enough as a director Barry Chu didn’t go on to do anything remarkable. After working as an assistant director for many years on the likes of Righting Wrongs and Swordsman 2, solo he’d only helm 3 more movies after Evil Instinct, all similarly adult themed, with 1997’s Whenever Will Be Will Be, and 1998’s Fatal Desire and Love in the River. As a debut though Evil Instinct is a passable thriller, and there’s not many movies out there (HK or otherwise) that can legitimately claim to combine elements of Basic Instinct, snake venom, insurance sales, and stockroom sex. For that, if you’re a fan of Cat III flicks then it’s certainly worth checking out, whether you choose to do to so via a pay-per-view service in an Asian hotel is up to you.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 5.5/10